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Destiny 2has an excellent variety of weapons, but not all of them are made equal. The seasonal balance changes and the specifics introduced in the seasonal artifact often change what types of weapons are actually useful in PvE and PvP modes. This hasn’t been different for the Season of the Lost, either, whichhas seen Fusion Rifles rise to the top, particularly at PVE level.
One type of weaponry that’s often forgotten among players is trace rifles. These weapons are so rare that all of them are in fact Exotic-tier weapons, found through various quests or through random Exotic engram drops. Despite being a bit niche, they are grossly underrated inDestiny 2, and some of them have surprising potential.
Updated on August 05, 2025, by Luke Brown:
Trace rifles have seen a major glow-up in the last few years, becoming staples in double-special ammo load-outs. In Episode Heresy, several artifact perks were added that hugely buff the potential of these laser weapons, at least until the end of the episode. As such, this list has been expanded from its original eight entries to a full 19, adding the eleven newest additions to the weapon family and reassessing the viability of previously ranked entries.
19Ruinous Effigy
Exotic Void Special Ammo Trace Rifle
The Ruinous Effigy is a Void trace rifle introduced inDestiny 2’s ShadowkeepDLC, in a quest that is no longer available for players. In order to obtain it, players must craft it themselves using an Exotic cipher. That said, it ranks the lowest among the trace rifles, not exactly making it worth the investment.
The weapon has the ability to shift enemies into Void Transmutation spheres on final blows, and despite decent stats, it compares poorly against other trace rifles. The main issue stems from how it was nerfed aroundBeyond Light’srelease and has since been somewhat of a forgotten weapon. It simply lacks the ‘oomph’ that other, better trace rifles have.
18Wavesplitter
Wavesplitter is another lower-end tier trace rifle, with more consistent stats than the Ruinous Effigy, but with debatably good effects. Its Harmonic Laser has three levels of power, which are engaged when the player holds down the trigger. Again, other trace rifles have better effects to offer.
That said, Wavesplitter is simpler to get than the Ruinous Effigy. It can randomly drop as an Exotic engram for the lucky few, and Xûr also has the chance of offering the player one in one of his Exotic engrams of the week. The Supercharged Battery trait is perhaps the best part about this weapon, as it uses Orbs of Power to charge the Wavesplitter to maximum damage and initiates a reload automatically.
17The Navigator
Exotic Strand Special Ammo Trace Rifle
The Navigator is an interesting weapon, if not underwhelming. While it does fine damage, The Navigator is better used as a utility weapon. Shoot at an ally, provide them Woven Mail, shoot continuously at an enemy, Sever them, and get the catalyst and special reload to produce a Strand grapple tangle.
Other than these specific uses — and its potency in speed running tactics — The Navigator is overshadowed by the majority of its competition and requires the player to be in a team with others to use it to the best of its ability.
16Hollow Denial
Void Adaptive Frame Trace Rifle
Introduced in season 17, Hollow Denial is one of the weapons that players can craft as they hunt down Nightmares. Deepsight versions of this trace rifle drop from the Nightmare Containment activity, but after enough unlocks at the Crown of Sorrow vendor, players can also earn one free Deepsight from the seasonal vendor on a weekly basis.
Hollow Denial is a Void trace rifle that gains the Extrovert Origin Trait. Crafting it is the best course of action to gain access to some of the desirable Enhanced perks. Players should look to craft it with Projection Fuse, Light Battery, or Tactical Battery. For the two perks of choice, go for Surplus or Heating Up in the first column, then Killing Tally or Wellspring in the second column. Adaptive Munitions is also a solid choice.
15Appetence
Stasis Adaptive Frame Trace Rifle
Appetence is a unique beast, being the only legendary Stasis damage trace rifle in the game. Despite this, it only really has one use, which is bolstering the power of Stasis builds. With Demolitionist refunding grenade energy, this weapon is the perfect option forWarlocks using a Stasis buildfocused on Stasis turrets.
Pairing this with Headstone further fuels the Stasis build, spreading stasis crystals and freezing across the battlefield, playing into the majority of Stasis aspects and fragments. Other than this specific use case, Appetence doesn’t make much of a name for itself, meaning a majority of players can probably ignore it.
14Path Of Least Resistance
Arc Adaptive Frame Trace Rifle
Path of Least Resistance was the first legendary trace rifle to roll with an Arc-specific perk, in the form of Voltshot. This perk allows the weapon to spread Arc jolting effects to enemies if the player reloads after a kill, arcing lightning around the battlefield and dealing large damage to a huge area.
Despite the potency of this weapon, it has fallen out of favor when compared to newer Arc trace rifles, which are able to roll with Jolting Feedback, which has the same effect as Voltshot except it doesn’t require a kill or reload. Therefore, while Path of Least Resistance is a great option for anyone able to craft it (and unable to get a new option), it falls off quickly in comparison to its fellow Arc trace rifles.
13Retraced Path
Solar Adaptive Frame Trace Rifle
Since it’s not an Exotic and not limited to a set of perks, there are a few rolls players should focus on getting for this Solar trace rifle. For battery, Projection Fuse or Tactical Battery are both great. Then, Shoot to Loot or Subsistence. And finally, for the last slot, Incandescent and Demolitionist are great options. It’s definitely a PVE weapon above all, and even then, it’s unlikely it will see much use given the weak state of trace rifles in the first place.
As of season 18, the Retraced Path trace rifle can also be crafted once enough patterns have been extracted from Deepsights found inDares of Eternity. It now comes with great Enhanced perks like Incandescent and Focused Fury, on top of some of the perks mentioned above. It pairs well with Solar builds that rely on Incandescent but has a minimal place in season 18’s meta.
12Prometheus Lens
Exotic Solar Special Ammo Trace Rifle
Some might gasp at the fact that the Prometheus Lens ranks this high, given how ‘common’ of an Exotic it seems to be. Just like the Wavesplitter, it can drop randomly as an Exotic engram, or from Xûr’s special weekly Exotic engram. Either way, it’s more accessible than some of the other weapons on this list, which puts it at an average position. Though it has seen some very niche use in PVP, like most trace rifles, it remains very much a useless weapon in difficult PVE and PVP content.
Prometheus Lens is still a pretty underrated weapon. Its Prismatic Inferno feature allows it to deal Solar damage through its beam. Its stats are its weakest point, but its Solar beam bumps it up above the latter few weapons due to its utility. The Flame Refraction trait is particularly usefulfor Prometheus Lens, as earning kills directly translates to more ammo, which allows players to beam down their enemies for longer.
11Acasia’s Dejection
Acasia’s Dejection is yet another Solar trace rifle option, available from the Root of Nightmares raid. With the right setup, this weapon feels like a legendary Prometheus Lens, freeing up an exotic slot for something more powerful. While getting this weapon is off the table for some players, it is well worth crafting for those who can raid.
The best perks for this weapon are Reconstruction or Rewind Round, constantly refreshing the ammo capacity of the gun, paired with either Incandescent for Solar explosions and ad-clear, or Target Lock for high single target damage. Any combination of these perks will serve any player well and will tear through enemies of all levels.
10Incisor
Strand Adaptive Frame Trace Rifle
When this weapon was released, it made waves as the first Strand damage type trace rifle, with perks that allow it to slot well into any Strand build. Slice and Hatchling spreads Sever and Threadlings all over the battlefield, building well into the loop of many Strand builds.
For a more traditional damage roll, Subsistence and Killing Tally allows this weapon to build up a decent damage bonus — and maintain it. While Incisor is a decent weapon, it isn’t the best-in-slot anymore, with another Strand weapon dethroning it in Episode Heresy. However, for those who prefer PvP to PvE, this is a great option to chase.
